Meditate On Your Blessings

Peace. I hope you all have been good. A lot of exciting things are happening with Pyramid Entertainment and Mac Nitti. Thanks to you I have made the #2 spot on the Hip Hop charts in Rochester, NY on reverbnation.com (I'm plugging the site here so if you haven't signed up as a fan, grabbed a widget to place on your myspace/facebook pages, or joined the street team, you can do so here: http://www.reverbnation.com/macnitti)

Also, we got the Pyramid Entertainment Magazine coming out this month, so if you haven't signed up to be on the mailing list, you can do that here: http://www.pyramidentertain.com/MailingList.html (just put "Magazine" in the comments)

P.E. Radio, as most of you know, is on fire! We broadcast every Mon and Thurs from 6:30pm-8:30pm EST. Here's the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/p-e-radio

OK, now that I got all of the business info out the way, I want get serious with for a minute. A week ago I lost a very, very, very important and close friend of mine. I knew this friend was sick, but the death came sudden and unexpected. It hurt me to lose this part of my life. But the thing about it is even though it is hard to let my friend and mentor go, I am cool because I know that I took full advantage of the time we had together.

We met when I was 14. So for many years we have had time to build, grow, bond and love each other.

I remember telling someone that if I lost this friend I’d more than likely lose it because I need to have that certain relationship in my life at all times. But now that the time had some to say goodbye, I realize that I still have that relationship because I took advantage of the times we had together. Now I reflect on the times we shared, the knowledge I gained and the smiles and tears we had together to replace the physical existence.

So why am I sharing this? We all lose loved ones. We all experience death. So what’s the big deal? I will tell you. This friend of mine has a family, but they don’t communicate. Not at all. They live in separate parts of the country and the last time they were together was at the funeral of their mother and that was just to pay respects to their mom; not to be with and comfort each other. So, yeah, this friend of mine died alone. Sure I was there and I am sure it meant a lot, but if the brothers and sisters were there, imagine how much better that would have been. To put aside differences and petty arguments and just be at the side of your dying sibling would have been beautiful. They missed that opportunity; and they will never get a second chance at that one. Sad.

Now the other day I was out taking care of some business and I ran into an old co-worker. He had a stroke, is confined to a wheelchair, needs a computer to communicate, and now lives alone. Guess what? He has no family either. None. The only child. Parents died when he was young. No friends. When he dies, guess how he’s probably going to die? Alone.

I am sharing all of this to get you to take just a few minutes and meditate on your blessings. I would like to bet that everyone reading this blog has family and friends. But I would also bet that almost no one reading this blog has actually taken the time to reflect on these people and realized how blessed you are to have "flowers" in your "garden". Yeah, some of those flowers are dandelions. But even dandelions can be beautiful.

I don’t want to sound preachy, but sometimes it takes tragedy in someone’s life for us to realize how blessed we are. I would challenge you to do three things:

1. Take some time to reflect on the simple things in life that you normally take for granted. Life, health, & strength. A job, a home, fresh water. Shoes, health insurance. But ESPECIALLY family and friends.

2. Fix broken relationships that were broken over simple things. We all get pig-headed and feel that we are too big to apologize (especially me). I know it's said all the time “You never know when…” Well, guess what? I am saying it again. You don’t want to go through the rest of your life knowing someone passed away and you didn’t say the simple words, “I’m sorry.”

3. Spend one extra hour a week teaching and showing love.

Thank you all!
Thanks for listening, thanks for your support and thanks for trying. But most importantly, thanks for loving.

Don’t forget Katie Tropp’s CD is coming soon.

Peace.

Mac

Deacon Frost -vs- The Bat

OK. Some of you know that I have had a history of bats in my house every year.
Well, yesterday I was talking with my friend Jay and was saying that I think I stopped the bats from coming in cause I haven't seen any this year. Boy did I speak too soon.

Last night at 11pm, I am laying in bed, snuggled in and ready for sleep when all of a sudden I hear, "Daddy!!!"I jump up and hear my daughter flying down from the computer room (which is in the attic). I asked what was wrong and she said a bat is in the attic. Great! Just Great! So I get the broom and open the door to the attic. There it is. The bat is doing laps around the attic at the top of the stairs. From the computer room to the wall at the top of the stairs. His laps are easy to time so I wait and at the right time...SWING! Nope! I missed, AND I broke the broom. I wanted to use my sword, but cause my samurai skills are a little rusty and I don't want to go stabbing holes in the walls.

So, I go downstairs and get a board I saved from a dresser I had thrown out this weekend. But when I go back upstairs, there's no bat. Where in the world is it? Now I have to go all the way upstairs. WHAT?!?! I KNOW he isn't in my office! I'm tiptoeing around in stealth mode, with my heartbeat at a minimum because I am getting myself mentally prepared for war. All of a sudden out of nowhere, there he is! I swing blindly and knock him into my office. The little nasty rodent is on the floor squeaking and looking at me. You want to talk creepy? This was creepy to the 10th power. I swear to you the thing had fixed his eye right on me!

I figured I must have injured him since he isn't flying. So I decide to go outside and get a stick to finish him off. When I come back, I realize I need to turn the office light on to see him good enough. I have my eyes on him while I'm feeling for the light switch. Man, as soon as I hit the lights, the bat came after me. I mean as soon as I hit the lights, the bat came after me.

Did you hear me say that as soon as I hit the lights, the bat came after me? I grabbed the door knob and closed the door as I ran (I didn't have a weapon with me so I had to retreat). The door must have knocked him cold cause after about 15 minutes, I decided to slowly open the door and there he was, laying on the floor breathing slowly.

I took advantage of the moment and stabbed him with the stick. The stick broke. Didn't even penetrate. Now what? I head back outside for another stick, but this time, I am sharpening it as I go back up. Now I am upset that this little flying rodent had me afraid, in my own house. I want revenge. I took the stick and stabbed him in the ear, while he looked at me. With the stab, his mouth opened to let out one last scream and in the background I heard the Mortal Combat voice say to me, "Finish him!" So I broke the stick in half and stabbed him in the mouth with the other half of the stick.

With victory in my possession, I took my victim out and disposed of him. I then returned to the battle grounds to clean up all signs of a struggle and returned to my chambers for sleep. Another victory.

Peace!

What Lessons

The picture above is of the OnLeaf River in Covington County, Mississippi. It is where my ancestors (on my dad's side) lived as slaves and even for a while after they were released from slavery. I chose the picture for this blog because of the peaceful feeling I got when I visited and the feeling I hope to get every time I visit.

OK, you all know that every now and then I have to give a lesson to you, right? Well here you go:

I got a text from my friend, Jazmine. She says, Johnny wants to know if he can borrow my laptop for a Bible Study group he has on Tuesdays.

Whoa!!!!! What?!?! WOW!!!! MY LAPTOP?!?!?!? Heck nah! I have some very valuable and PERSONAL things on my laptop. I said all of that to her in my text. Now, Jazzy is my good friend, so I'm feeling bad for telling HER no, but then again, I wasn't telling her no, I was telling her to tell Johnny no. So as time goes on, I began wondering what possessed someone to even think about asking to borrow MY laptop. I also wondered who loans out their laptop anyway. That's crazy in my opinion. But as I thought, I wondered if there may have been someone that was going to be at the group meeting that may have needed the lesson that night. What if there was someone that needed some type of hope and because they didn't have a laptop to show the PowerPoint, this person wouldn't be able to get whatever it is that they needed at that time. See, they had a laptop for the Bible lessons, but it broke (another reason I didn't want them to use mine), so its not like they just decided to have the group and ask someone for a laptop; things happened.

So, I called Johnny and told him, "1st of all, I don't loan out my laptop, but if all you need is a means to show a PowerPoint presentation that you have on a flash drive, not only will I let you use my laptop, but I will also operate it for you." Johnny agreed and said to meet him at 7pm. Cool.

So I'm at the home relaxing, because I know I have about an hour before I need to meet Johnny. The next thing I know, I am being told that my neighbor across the street wants to see me. OMG. Why? I barely talk to my neighbors so I am shocked to know someone is requesting to see me. Now I have to stop playing Madden 09, put some clothes on, and go across the street to see what this guy wants. Now mind you, as I'm getting dressed and heading over, I'm already going through my mind that this guy had a stroke a few years ago and I heard he can't talk. Now that should let you know I have no dealings with him because like I said, I HEARD he can't talk. I get across the street and he's on his porch, then the rain starts coming down. I'm standing in the rain and this guy is pointing, mumbling, grunting and moving. All he can say is Yeah, Nah, and OK. OMG! OMG! OOOOOMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

After 10 minutes of standing in the rain, and playing charades, I figured out that Mr. Johnson wants me to take him somewhere. Where? I have NO IDEA, but I know now that he needs a ride. So I go get the car keys, drive over to his house, get him in the car and hes pointing his was to where he wants to go. The Family Dollar store up the street. Fine. I decide that I'll stay in the car while he goes in. Plus, those of you that know me know that I'm hoping that he has money because I am not about to volunteer mine. Nah, I can't do that. He can only use one hand and with that hand he holds his cane. Remember, he had a stroke. So I go in the store, still hoping he has his own cash. Now here I am thinking he is about to do some shopping. Instead, this man wants a bag of chips and a bottle of juice. SMH But boy did I smile when I saw him pull out his own money. Yes!

Time to go home? No. Now he's pointing toward the opposite direction. The fish market. I had to figure out that he wants a haddock sandwich with batter, no cornmeal. OK! The people that worked in the fish market were having such a difficult time figuring out what the two of us were going through.

I finally got Mr. J home and in the house. This all took about an hour. But the good thing is while I was at the Family Dollar, I received a text saying that Johnny's meeting was canceled.

I share this day of mine with you to say this: Don't complain. When you're afforded the opportunity to help someone, do it. You NEVER know if or when you will be able to do it again. I have, as most of you know, been trying to work on my patience, and I believe the Mr. Johnson situation was a way to start my journey to where I want to be. It was a classic lesson. The rain was pouring and I was standing in it. But I didn't complain. I couldn't complain. I did what I was asked to do and feel good about it.

Be blessed, spread love, and BUY MY ALBUM!

On a Serious Note

Hey.

I decided to try and post a serious blog today. It may seem a little un-Nitti like, but hey, we all have to step out of our comfort zone every now and then to taste the real world, right? So today I am going to "preach."

On the 4th my Grandpa's brother died. We knew he was going to die. He had cancer and they put him in hospice. My dad and I had visited him when we first heard that he was sick. This was last year. He was fine then. He was going back and forth to Buffalo for chemotherapy and had lost his hair. He looked good though. Well, a few weeks ago, I was told that he was put in hospice and that I should go and visit him.

When my dad and I went over, he was sitting in the living room with his oxygen tank. That was crazy. Just last year he was cracking jokes and talking about how he and my grandfather had gone fishing and now here he is sitting in a chair with a tube pumping O2 into him. My uncle had grown his hair back, which meant that he had stopped the chemotherapy. My dad did most of the talking and Uncle Columbus responded but you could tell he was short of breath and every now and then he'd lean over holding his stomach. I asked him if he was in pain. He told me the truth, "Yes, not much, but when its there, its there."

Two weeks later, I get a call from my grandmother telling me that Uncle Columbus had died. When I went to his house on the 4th to pay my respects, a few people had gathered on the porch and you could see the sadness in their eyes. It was expected.

I am not going to go into the whole visiting the body thing. Just know it was sad and leads up to this: Later on that day I was able to sit and talk with my grandfather. This is something I love to do; he is a funny man. Many people, especially my immediate family members think he's this grumpy old man that hates to be bothered, but its not true at all. He is a very funny old man. Sort of like me, minus the old part. :-) Well, he told me that he expected Uncle Columbus to die. He said in his opinion, the sooner the better. He knew his brother was in pain and he hated seeing him struggle to breath and seeing him hurting. I totally understood. I looked in his eyes and could see pain.

His brother, who he was very close to is gone. But my grandfather still managed to crack his jokes. But as the conversation progressed to being more serious, as it normally does when he and I chat, he told me something deep. Simple but deep. He said that he always made it his business to do whatever his parents and siblings asked him to do. He said it may be something simple that they were asking, but to them it may be very important and mean a lot to them. He said you never know when you will ever be given the opportunity to do for them again. My grandfather also told me that as the oldest he still finds himself chastising his siblings. He said it a role he has no problem having.

As he spoke to me, I reflected on my own life and how his words pertained to me. What he said was nothing I hadn't heard before. We have all heard and maybe even said it before. But when he said it, it had a whole new impact on me. See, my other grandfather had passed away many years ago. He was a sweet man. But he's gone. I can't bring him back, but I am blessed to have this one with me still. Although they are two totally different men, I know that both my grandfathers had and have a common ground; the importance of family. It has carried over to me and I think that is why this lesson my grandfather gave me with was so special.

We have got to take time for each other. Regardless of how little the time is, we have got to do it. Regardless of how young or old we are, no one knows when they will die. It's a fact. We hate to think that we are not going to be here for ever and the thought of losing a loved one is not something we want to think about either. But it is going to happen.

I have a brother that is dealing with something very serious right now. My family is close. When I say close, I mean close. So while he is dealing with what it is that he has going on, it is affecting all of us. It's supposed to be that way. If you have a loved one that is dealing with something, you should be affected too. If you're not then that bond that you THINK you have is not really there. It's all made up in your head and only you can see it.

I did some community outreach work with a guy recently. I had no idea that he was going through his own personal battles at home. It got the best of him and to make a long story short, he is in the psych ward right now trying to get better. Now I don't know the this guy very well, so when I read the paper about his incident, I could have shrugged it off and kept going. But instead, I went to visit him. He was so happy. He told me that he knows I didn't have to come see him, but the fact that I did, made him feel great. Hearing that made me feel great.

I say and share all of this with you to say this: It's OK to tell your family and friends that you love them. It's OK to take time out of YOUR life to do what someone else wants to do. It's cool to put your pleasures on hold for a while to make sure someone else has their pleasure. Trust me, if you do it and have your heart in it, you will find that their pleasure was yours as well.

I hope that everyone reading this blog takes heed and starts living life a in a more positive manner.

Thanks for listening. Now go buy my CD and listen to some good music.


Peace and I love all of you!

29 Years in Solitary Confinement

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a good friend of mine, Nikki B. It was introducing a gentleman named Robert H. King. (That's him with me in the picture. Looking at this picture, I wonder if we are related. Do we look alike, or is just me thinking that?) Have youl ever hear of him? Well the email from Nikki was saying that Mr. King was coming to Rochester. He was here on the 11th of this month. So I went to check him out.

I'm so glad I went. You all need to check out the Angola 3. Mr. King is a member of the Angola 3 and a member of the original Black Panther Party. He's a very interesting man. I'm not going to tell you anything about the Angola 3 or Mr. Robert Hillary King's story. It's up to you to do the research and learn for yourself. I highly suggest you do so.

I will let you know that through his speech, testimony, story, or whatever you wanna call it, Mr. King had me doing some deep thinking. He was saying that not only those that are or were incarcerated have been institutionalized, but those of us on the outside have been too. The system has "us" believing that everyone in prison should be in prison, or that they are someone that shouldn't be trusted. It was deep. It caused me to check my way of thinking. I mean how many of you have locked up your CDs and DVDs every time your uncle that was in prison came over to visit? I mean just because he did prison or jail time doesn't mean he cant be trusted. It doesn't mean he cant change. Right? Then why do you tell your kids to hide your purse whenever he comes over? HA! I can't lie, I have some people that I know have been incarcerated for parking tickets and I still hide my possessions from them. I mean I put my PS2 controllers under my couch cushion and everything when they come over. LOL Now I am NOT saying to go and leave your house keys in the care of a drug addict. LOL. But give some people a break. The right people though. I don't want you saying, "I'm not supporting Mac anymore! He's the one that told me to let Uncle Dave move in my house when he got released after doing 5 years in prison for robbing someone!" LOL

But seriously, do some real studying of the prison system and the number of people locked up for little to nothing.

I am not doing Mr. King any justice by paraphrasing his words, but please believe me when I tell you it was a very enlightening evening.

I just thought I would let you know that there is a group of guys called The Angola 3 that need your attention. Not only them, but there are, as Mr. King said, plenty of "political prisoners" that need our attention. There was a guy there Saturday night that asked Mr. King this, "After you gave us your story, what do you want from us?" It was a deep question. He asked if he wants us to be fired up while he is here speaking to us and then go on our way back to living a stagnant life until the next time we hear from him or someone else that speaks fiery words, or does he want us to get up and do what we need to do to help fixed this "system" that we were forced and tricked into. Mr. King answered like this, "When you throw pebbles in the river they create ripples. Enough ripples can create a tidal wave. Enough tidal waves can create a tsunami."

Let's create some ripples. Check out the story of The Angola 3 and start throwing some pebbles. Before I sign off I want to thank Nikki B for keeping me in the loop so I wouldn't miss out on a very enjoyable evening with Mr. King. I love ya!

Peace, World.

I Quit!

It is about 9:30 and the weather man says it is 7 degrees. What's up with that? Anybody in the South wanna trade places for a while? So anyway, I went to Bingo last night. Yes I gave in and allowed my brother to convince me its OK to go out in the freezing cold to make dots on paper with a marker.

So we pull in the parking lot and I tell my brother that it looks empty. We walked in, and yup, E-M-P-T-Y! Where you want to sit? Pick a seat, there's many to choose from! Man, no one was in there. (look at the pic and you will see it looks like I am there all by myself!) Then the guy announces that because of the small amount of people in attendance, the pot will be 1/2 the normal amount. He says there are about 90 people in there. GREAT! I come out in this bone shivering weather, when I could be home playing my PS2 just to find out that if I win anything it will be 1/2 of what I could have won?!?!

I'm not happy. Well, anyway, the games begin and the silence comes. Not that it wasn't already quiet from the small amount of people in there. 1st game begins and 3 minutes later, Bingo! Bingo! Bingo! Bingo! LOL I swear half the crowd was yelling Bingo! Come on! All of you have Bingo??? So yeah, they all get verified and all have to split the pot that was already split. $5 for you. $5 for you. $5 for you. And $5 for you. LOL

Every game was like that. Everyone was yelling Bingo at one point or another, except us! I'm like what is going on? I am now convinced it is a conspiracy. Why is everyone winning but me? I have one board that I only marked one time during the whole game. And that one spot was the free play spot in the middle of the board! I leaned over the table to my brother and spoke to him thru my teeth. You know how you get mad and don't move your lips when you're talking? I said, "I am NOT coming back here again!" Of course he laughed, but I am serious man. I quit. I can deal with the Bingo scene man. Well, maybe not at that location. LOL

We need a new spot. It's obvious they don't want me to win there. Call me paranoid if you want, but I know what it is. I am a newbie. I didn't have the dabber ink under my finger nails. So they KNEW I was not an experienced Bingoer. OK. That's cool. I'm going to the Dollar General this weekend and I'm buying some of them cheap bingo games. I'm going to lock myself in the room for a few hours and practice. I'm going to get the eye of the Bingo Tiger! Then I'm going to go back and guess what!? It's on! And I better not leave there without winning.

Don't worry, I'll keep you all posted. :-) Seriously, if you are a Bingoer, please do not get upset with me. I am only kidding. Don't take it personal. Truth be told, it is a fun time and I see myself getting addicted. LOL. A friend of mine already offered to school me on the Bingo computer. Uh oh. You better watch out!!! If I get that down, it is on.

Have a good weekend. Peace.

B-I-N-G-O

Anyone ever play Bingo? My brother is trying to get me to go. Tonight is a rare night for me. I have nothing to do. I could play my PS2 for a little bit, read a good book, and go to bed at a decent time tonight. But then again, the last time I went to Bingo with my brother, I had a great time. Actually I have gone 3 times in my life, all with him, and I had a ball each time.

To be honest, I always thought Bingo was for old people. You know walkers, canes, and wheelchairs lined up against the walls. Home Health Aid standing behind the elderly like porters, waiting for them to say they have to use the bathroom or that they soiled their pants. Old man raising his shaking hand all slow to yell "BINGO" as loud as he can but it ends up sounding like a whisper. You know what I am talking about. But its not like that at all! I mean yeah, there are some old folks in there, but its nice. People of all ages are in there trying to win money.. And the competition is fierce. HA! It'll be very noisy in there while folks are coming in, but once the games begin....oh man, when the games begin! You hardly hear a peep.

And when they get to the last game...It's on! If they turned off the lights you'd swear you were in there by yourself. No body says a word! At all!

I know I should be in there trying to DAB (all the Bingo goers out there know what I am talking about), but I can't help but to check out the scene behind the scene. Is there a such thing as a Professional Bingoer? If not, there should be. I see people in there with Bingo machines, some have 2-4 boards playing them at the same time. I have a hard enough time keeping up with the one board I get. Maybe if I pay attention it won't be so hard. LOL.
But what I'm going to do, if I go, is take some pictures and hopefully blog about it this weekend so you will know how it went. Who knows, I may win some money!

Wish me luck!